My GP has just taken me off 40m of atorvastatin and put me on a much lower dose of rosuvastatin. I was put on statins 16 months ago when I had a suspected TIA. I saw the comments in this forum about atorvastatins being "ototoxic" and making tinnitus worse. So I decided to run the question past my GP at my medication review this morning. To my surprise, he was completely familiar with this, said the hospital where I had been admitted with the suspected TIA probably had consultants who favour atorvastatin, which is a popular belt & braces anti-cholesterol drug, but it does cross into the brain. So he's changed the prescription. Says I exercise, avoid saturated fats etc and my cholesterol level wasn't seriously high before the suspected TIA. So he doesn't think I need to be on 40g of atorvastatin. This post is just to say, if you have any doubts about your long term medication, particularly having seen posts here about up-ticks in tinnitus after starting certain meds, it's worth having a discussion with your doctor. And when you're prescribed something, ask if it's a known offender with tinnitus levels before you start taking it.
Atorvastatin and tinnitus: My GP has just taken... - Tinnitus UK
Atorvastatin and tinnitus
Interested to know if the change of meds has made difference? I'm also on atorvastatin. Thanks
I'm starting rosuvastatin today. I've read on tinnitus.uk that it's an irreversible side effect. But I'm ever the optimist.
I now have rosuvastatin 5mg . It hasn't made T any worse . But it is a very low dose and has less reports of T than Atorvastatin..
I too would be interested as I’m on a statin
i am onstatins too my tinitus is louder due to this
Thanks for posting I was thinking the same amazingly
I will go to my GP for exactly that. Much appreciated
thanks ToetappingPoet, I’m in the same situation.
I was put on Atorvastatin 40mg in Feb 2023. 5 days later woke up to " what the hell is that noise " I hadn't heard my T for about 15 years .I phoned my Dr and refused to take any more. It was too late damage done !! A year later and after a vegan diet, I was persuaded to go on Rosuvastatin 5mg. The T is still there, but it isn't any worse . The leaflet for Atorvastatin said T is a rare 1 in a 100 side effect . ( I don't think its rare when thousands of people are on it ) What it doesn't say in the leaflet is that it can make T worse. Only massive amounts of research uncovered that info .
I am not saying it will make everyone's T worse, But from people I know mostly oldies like me who are on A , the higher dose is more likely to be connected to T. Well that is my opinion.
My advice to anyone about to go on this statin , do some research and have a chat to your doctor , there are other statins that may not be ototoxic.
Did you do the vegan diet to try to manage cholesterol without meds?
Yes and it worked . Got down from 6.6 to 3. Just a warning if you are going to try one . After about the first 3 weeks on the diet ,I felt quite ill. So I included chicken and fish. The only reason I agreed to the Rouvastatin last year , was because I have a tiny calcified cholesterol dot in a vein in one eye.
You can check out . "pubmed.ncbi.min.nih.gov" under" irreversible atorvastatin-associated hearing loss" it says this drug can worsen tinnitus. Under the heading "abstract" it gives a case history.
Interesting. I've reduced saturated fats a lot and upped the good fats. Never eat red meat. Like you, fish and chicken occasionally. I need to do another cholesterol test and see where the level is at now. I feel really cross about atorvastatin. I've been taking it for 16 months! Think the dose was too high and it's clearly not a good drug for anyone with hearing issues. If it's the cause of the uptick I suppose I'll have to work hard on habituation. I've never had trouble sleeping with tinnitus. But it's a horror show at the moment.
Sounds like you probably have reduced your cholesterol .( I had a test done at my chemist , before I tackled the doctor again ) . I'm convinced the high dose of Ator causes T problem in some people . I know it did to me. Any med can cause T but some are more likely to than others. Just read the leaflet with any med. Just wish I'd done my research first . I would have ask the Dr for a different statin.
I take 40mg atorvastatin and it hasn't changed anything. Been on it for a year or so.
I guess most people are fine with it . Just the odd- one happens to be unlucky.
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